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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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TWO FOR JERSEY CITY REFORM.
Gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler (left) shakes hands with mayoral hopeful Steve Lipski.
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Jersey City, NEW JERSEY, October 21, 2004 --- Mayoral hopeful Steve Lipski says he would be happy to continue his partnership with the Filipino community and give Filipinos the opportunity to work in his administration, if elected on Nov. 2.
Lipski, a first-term city councilman who had been present in Filipino activities, believes that Filipinos, like any other ethnic groups, are “participants of the city in every capacity.” And he says he likes to empower their participation by giving them a position in the government.
“It has been a great partnership with Filipino organizations and its leaders. I envision to give Filipinos the position of power, which will allow them to participate and contribute in government projects,” he said.
“By continuing my interaction with various Filipino and other ethnic groups, and seek out their support, I want to give employment in different boards of the city. I want to provide them prestige and responsibility.”
To date, the late Mayor Glenn Cunninghan appointed two Filipino-Americans — Serafina Sengco as chief financial officer and Ed Toloza as tax assessor — under his administration. Sengco and Toloza are still in the position.
Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith, in addition, recently appointed Ludy Corrales as honorary mayor to serve as a conduit to the Filipino community.
Undaunted by criticism over his tax abatement proposal, Lipski says he wants to deal with the problems of Jersey City and its people.
“I love this town, and I want to reform this town through better education and tax breaks,” he said.
Lipski, 40, says he has a six-point flatform, namely: 1.) People’s report card where every resident is accountable and visible; 2.) Taxpayers’ watchdog to see how the County spends money; 3.) Mobile mayor’s office to assure residents of a government offficer who serves anytime and anywhere; 4.) Life-long learning through trainings and programs; 5.) Hiring more police in the city; and 6.) Seniors’ “boss” plan, where there will be an officer ready to pick up a senior citizen who needs a ride for a doctor’s appointment or to take the senion to the mall.
Inspired by his close relations to Filipino, Egyptian and Indian communities, Lipski learned a few Tagalog, Arabic and Hindi words.
“Busog na ako. Masaya, malinamnam, and salamat po,” he said with a smile on his face, trying to show off some of Tagalog phrases that he knew.
Lipski said he has a cousin who is married to a Filipina, and some of the members of his campaign team are Filipinos.
“I like pancit and lechon. I also eat pan de sal.”
When the Jersey Journal/New Jersey City University released the results of polls taken this week, which gave Lipski a 3.8 voting percentage, the mayoral candidate gives it with a shrug.
“I don’t have much faith in the polls. They could be inaccurate,” Lipski said. “The 3.8 percent is only about 16,000 voters. I believe I have about 10,000 voters from every ward of Jersey City.”
The Journal/NJCU polls placed mayoral candidates Jerramiah Healy and Louis Manzo as top picks at 20 percent, but 30 percent say they are undecided voters.
To stress a point, Lipski draws an analogy from presidential polls, in 1991, where the older George Bush got 92 percent of winning, but at the end of the elections, Bill Clinton beat Bush.
“Polls are funny indication parameters,” Lipski said.
Reflecting his flatform and moral code, Lipski runs an election advertisement that says “Unbought, Unbossed.” He claims, as compared to other mayoral candidates, that he is “the only candidate who has the integrity, sincerity and responsibility.”
Part of Lipski’s credential includes his involvement in the creation of the Charter High School, Jersey City redevelopment plan, hand-in-hand campaign with gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler on tax cuts and education empowerment.
“Among the mayoral candidates, I’m the only one who doesn’t have any political contract,” Lipski said. “I’m here to serve my town and my people.”
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NEW YORK, October 20, 2004 --- Finding “probable cause” that Charlie “Atong” Ang had committed the crime of plunder, a United States district judge has ruled that Ang, a crony and co-accused of jailed former President Joseph Estrada, be extradited to the Philippines.
Judge Lawrence R. Leavitt of the US District Court of Nevada issued the ruling on Oct. 14, according to information released by the US Embassy in Manila.
Leavitt based his ruling on the testimony of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson which he found to be “reliable and admissible in extradition hearings as statements against penal interest.”
He said Singson’s testimony clearly placed Ang “in the middle of the transaction” and that he had “participated” in Estrada’s alleged diversion of P130 million in tax money for the latter’s personal use in August 1998.
“The court finds that there is probable cause to believe that Ang committed the crime of plunder,” Leavitt said in his ruling.
Ang has until Nov. 8 to file evidence supporting his defense against extradition. The US government must file its response not later than Nov. 19.
Leavitt said that while there were slight discrepancies in Singson’s testimony, like the number of bags of money, these did not relate to the essential facts.
He said the bank records and other documents tended to corroborate Singson’s testimony and “point to Ang’s involvement.”
The judge also said Singson’s testimony on Ang’s participation in the “jueteng scheme” with Singson and Estrada “was plausible.”
He said Ang’s characterization of the testimony as false was “not supported by the record.”
“The ruling is another example of the ongoing RP-US cooperation in law enforcement,” the US Embassy said. (MNS)
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NEW YORK, October 21, 2004 --- Nearly three months after the last surgery that led to their separation, Filipino twins Carl and Clarence Aguirre’s visit on Friday to the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) seemed to be a homecoming.
The boys, who once were joined at the top of their heads, were given a special welcome by doctors, civic leaders, friends — and the special apprearance of Australian children’s singing group, The Wiggles.
“It’s amazing and incredible to be back here with my two boys,” said mother Arlene Aguirre,who brought the children back to CHAM for a series of appointments as preparations continue for the boys’ next reconstructive surgery.
Clarence was up to the tricks made by medical staff that he has become familiar with, tossing the Wiggles’ press materials onto the floor and pulling upon his mother’s camera. Carl, however, was reaching out for the bountiful toys, even he was sedated in his stroller.
The twins were also amused by the presence of The Wiggles.
Though jetlagged after a long flight from Sydney, The Wiggles — Murray, Jeff, Anthony and Greg — insisted upon preceding their U.S. tour with a visit to the hospital where the historic surgery took place, and won many friends with comprehensive tours of four floors of the hospital for people who were unable to attend their 20-minute show.
The Wiggles had the audience dancing with renditions of “Point Your Finger and Do The Twist,” “Hot Potato,” and “Monkey Dance” during their two-hour visit.
Meanwhile, the surgical team of the twins at Montefiore Medical Center received on Wednesday a special award for Excellence in Science and Technology from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in honor of New York’s most gifted scientists. The mayor touted the surgical team for making a history with the series of operations to separate the Aguirre twins.
The final operation of Carl and Clarence was completed on Aug. 5, a few days after the deadline for the Awards had passed. But officials said that Mayor Bloomberg was so intent on finding a forum to honor the historic accomplishment that he crafted a special category, by means of which the entire team of doctors and nurses could be honored.
During a presentation at City Hall, Bloomberg gave the award to Dr. James Goodrich and Dr. Staffenberg, the leaders of the CHAM team, as well as to Dr. Spencer Foreman, president of the Montefiore Medical Center.
“Sometimes in life something happens that is so compelling and important that you have to recognize it,” said Bloomberg, referring to the successful operation.
“The eyes of the world were on the Bronx this year as the hospital prepared for an intricate and dangerous surgery,” the mayor said. “The final surgery took place on Aug. 5, and the rest is really history. Thank goodness they continue to do well -- better than anybody expected.”
“The time between surgeries has allowed them to make tremendous strides. The biggest improvement has been in head posture, and the way they have been taking cues from each other in physical therapy.”
“I want Clarence the smaller, who did all the work when conjoined, to catch up,” said Staffenberg. “The key with the next reconstructive surgery for their skulls will be when we can get them back into physical therapy again.”
“The laid-back, lazy boy, Carl,” added Goodrich, “has become more in-your-face, while Clarence has taken a completely different tack.” “Carl and Clarence have remained neurologically intact through the procedure.”
“Both have the legs of oxes. They’re picking up their head control. The physical therapists feel that they’ll be walking by December,” Goodrich said.
The recent successful separation of Carl and Clarence created a worldwide awareness of the important role of plastic surgery in these complex cases.
Staffenberg was also honored on Monday in a special “Frontiers in Plastic Surgery” panel at the annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world.
He will be continuing the reconstructive process with smaller operations when he feels that the Aguirre twins are physically ready:
“The attention from my peers and the Mayor has been very flattering, but It’s been very clear to me and Dr. Goodrich that the scientific community and civic leaders been paying Montefiore all of this attention because of the boys’ progress, two months after the operation.”
Goodrich, who insisted to the mayor that the entire operating room team stand up to receive the plaudits of a packed City Hall, reinforced that the twins are “very healthy” and “doing strikingly well.”
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MANILA, October 21, 2004 --- The Philippines has remained the world’s 11th most corrupt nation in a field of 146 countries evaluated by London-based Transparency International (TI).
With no significant improvement in transparency, the Philippines has been holding on to its rank for the last two years along with five other countries sharing 11th position.
Ranked with the Philippines are Eritrea, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.
The two most unstable and poorest countries in the world also ranked as the most corrupt: Bangladesh and Haiti. Ranked second was Nigeria followed by the African nation of Chad and Myanmar.
Last year, the Philippines shared the 11th rank with Romania and Pakistan. Romania has since improved to 14th place while Pakistan fell to 6th.
Results of the 2004 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report showed that, with a population of over 80 million people, the Philippines is notorious in the international community for a wide range of scams perpetuated by both public officials and private businesses, and even entrepreneurial individuals eager to squeeze money out of any loophole.
TI surveyed business people and risk analysts on their perceptions in the degree of corruption.
A score of 10 in the CPI means that a nation is perceived as “clean” and free from corruption while a score of zero meant it is perceived to be highly corrupt.
In the 2004 CPI, Finland again emerged as the most corruption-free country in the world, scoring 9.7 points. In contrast, Bangladesh got a 1.5-point score while the Philippines received a 2.6-point rating, the same as last year.
The Philippines slipped from the CPI score it had in 2001 and its overall ranking slid from No. 65 in 2001 to No. 77 in the 2002 survey.
Corruption is hobbling the fight against poverty and robbing oil-rich countries of their development potential, the global graft watchdog reported in its annual report on sleaze.
TI chairman Peter Eigen said developing countries in particular must root out sleaze in public works if they hope to improve the quality of life of their citizens.
“Corruption in large-scale public projects is a daunting obstacle to sustainable development and (it) results in a major loss of public funds needed for education, health care and poverty alleviation, both in developed and developing countries,” Eigen said.
“If we hope to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, governments need to seriously tackle corruption in public contracting,” he said.
TI estimated that the amount lost due to bribery in government procurement is at least $400 billion per year worldwide.
TI reported that a total of 106 out of 146 countries score less than five against a clean score of 10. Sixty countries, including the Philippines, score less than three out of 10, indicating rampant corruption.
He added that nations rich in natural resources too often undermined their own prospects with widespread graft and kickbacks among local leaders and foreign investors.
The Philippines also has the dubious honor of having produced two of the most corrupt heads of state in modern history: Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada.
In its Global Corruption Report for 2004, TI charted the flow of stolen assets and recommended ways to recover money looted by despots.
“Political corruption undermines the hopes for prosperity and stability of developing countries, and damages the global economy,” Eigen said.
“The abuse of political power for private gain deprives the most needy of vital public services, creating a level of despair that breeds conflict and violence,” he said. “It also hits the pockets of taxpayers and shareholders worldwide. The problem must be tackled at the national and international level.”
The GCR 2004 detailed funds allegedly embezzled by political leaders of the past two decades, with Indonesiaís Suharto topping the list of the ten most corrupt chief executives in the world.
President of Indonesia from 1967-98, Suharto is alleged to have stolen $15 billion to $35 billion in a country where the GDP per capita hovered at around $700.
Second only to Suharto was Marcos who was alleged to have embezzled a total of $5 billion to $10 billion from the Philippines while in office from 1965 to 1986, at a time when the per capita income was at $912.
Estrada was the 10th most corrupt chief executive, cited by TI for allegedly embezzling $78 million to $80 million in the three years that he was president, unlike the top two leaders who were in power for decades. (MNS)
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MANILA, October 20, 2004 --- The Philippines is now the world’s top exporter of nurses, with many of them skipping the official recruitment for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), according to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The study said the overseas employment of Filipino nurses was grossly underreported because hospitals abroad, particularly those in the United States, were directly recruiting the health workers as immigrants.
NIH Executive Director Jaime Galvez-Tan said that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the agency tasked with facilitating the deployment of OFWs, recorded only 84,843 nurses who left the country since 1994.
POEA data showed that 91 nurses left for the United States in 2000, 304 in 2001 and 320 in 2002. The United States is one of the top destinations of Filipino health workers.
Records from the countries of destination, however, revealed that around 50,000 nurses had left the Philippines over the past three years. A number of them were doctors who studied nursing so they could leave the country for greener pastures.
“Health workers have left the country before, but never in the history of the Philippines has this happened. You have 50,000 nurses leaving in three years. We need to do something now,” he said.
“Do you actually believe that only a few hundreds have left in the past three years? Even our foreign counterparts know that’s not true,” Galvez-Tan told reporters in an interview after a lecture at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Nursing.
Galvez-Tan presented the study titled “The Philippine Phenomenon of Nursing Medics: Why Doctors are Becoming Nurses” before a conference of the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates in Washington D.C. last week.
He said that the Philippines, India and South Africa were invited to the conference attended mostly by recruiting countries to discuss their roles in the medical work force of the world.
The Philippines was acknowledged as the top supplier of nurses while India was the No. 1 source of doctors. South Africa also exports health workers.
“They were shocked when showed that while the Philippines was a glossy exporter of nurses and doctors, our health situation is shocking,” said Galvez-Tan, who is also UP Manila’s vice chancellor for research.
About 60 per cent of the nurses in the United Kingdom are foreigners, majority of them Filipinos. Galvez-Tan said Filipinos were now the biggest ethno-linguistic group in England.
From 2000 to 2004, some 8,000 Filipino nurses left for the United Kingdom, according to data from the POEA, but the UK registry itself recorded 16,000 Filipino nurses who got employed in the country during the period.
The American government has also relaxed its policy on the practice of foreign doctors in the United States, Galvez-Tan said.
Washington previously required foreign doctors studying in the United States to go back to their countries for a two-year residency, but this requirement has been discarded so the foreign specialists could serve in its poorer areas.
Galvez-Tan said the United States would need 10,000 doctors and 100,000 nurses every year for the next 20 years.
The Philippines has 418 nurses for every 100,000 people or one for every 239 people. One of the country’s premier state hospitals is losing 300 to 500 of its nurses to foreign employment abroad every year, according to Galvez-Tan. (MNS)
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